Lock with roller bearing support of bolt



ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1953 E. R. FREEBERG LOCK WITH ROLLER BEARING SUPPORTOF BOLT Filed April 17, 1950 2 l f J S 4 J 4 R 1: T.\\\\\ I W m5 7 -Aw.% 4 NW. T '1 T. RC Marl-50234 h 7 2W MYW E B \\\\v M0 L K a) w v y a,i 2% E a J m m Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOCKWITH ROLLER BEARING SUPPORT OF BOLT Ernest R. Freeberg, Moline, 111.

Application April 17, 1950, Serial No. 156,372

Claims.

The invention relates to looks. More especially, the invention isdesigned to reduce the friction encountered by the sliding bolt when thelock is operated.

The usual lock has a bolt that projects from the lock and enters into aslot on a metal plate mounted in the frame of the door. The part of thebolt projecting out of the lock has an inclined surface and a spring inthe lock tends to project the end of the bolt outward.

When the door on which the lock is mounted is swung shut, the inclinedsurface of the bolt hits the edge of the plate on the doorway and thiscreates an axial component that forces the bolt to move back into thelock against the spring. When the door is closed and the tip of the boltis over the slot in the plate, the spring must project the bolt forwardto hold the door in locked position. If the spring fails to move thebolt outward the door is not locked. Or, if the friction of the bolt istoo great, when the door is swung shut the impact will not move the boltand the door will not slam shut.

The pressure of the plate on the doorway against the inclined end of thebolt not only produces the axial force that is desired but also a forceat right angles to the bolt and this force tends to bind the bolt.

Where a, door is opened infrequently or where the lock is rarely used,the surfaces of the bolt, even if originally lubricated, become dry andtend to corrode. This greatly increases the friction and the bolt maynot function properly.

It has been proposed to support the bolt on rollers carried in bearingsalongside of the bolt but such bearings, due to disuse, tend to stick.The invention interposes a pair of rollers between the bolt and thefront and back of the lock respectively. It also provides a novel spacerto keep these rollers in alignment.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of a lock embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section along lines 2--2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along lines 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the housing along lines 4-4 in Fig.1.

Fig. 5 shows one of the spacers for the rollers in perspective.

The main body of the lock has a back 2, sides 3 and corner posts 4.

The front plate 5 is attached to the main body by screws 6, which enterdrilled and tapped holes as shown at I.

The back 2 and the front plate are provided with key holes 8.

The bolt It extends through an opening 40 in the lock housing wall andthe other end of the bolt is supported on a ledge 4| shown in Fig. 4.

One side of the projecting end of the bolt is inclined as shown at 9.

The underside of the bolt is notched at II. If the proper key isinserted in key way 8 the notches in the key will pass by theprojections on plate 42 and the key can be turned so that the flat partof the key will engage the notch H and slide the bolt from left to rightin Fig. l.

The bolt is also notched at l2 in the other plane and a spring l3 bearsagainst one side, M, of this notch. The spring [3 may be a coil springmounted on stud ['5 and having one end bearing against the bolt and theother end ll against a shoulder l8 on the housing.

The bolt does not bear directly against the front plate and the back ofthe housing as is customary. The bolt is recessed at each side as shownat 30 and rollers 20, 2| are interposed between the bolt Ii) and theback of the housing and the front plate.

To keep the rollers in alignment and to keep them properly spaced aspacer plate 22 is placed between the back of the housing and thesliding bolt and another spacer plate 23 between the bolt and the frontplate. Each of these plates is pierced and the edges of the pierced holeturned up to form flanges 24 which guide the rollers 20, 2|.

The recesses 30 are of such length that as the bolt moves through itscomplete stroke it may roll on the rollers 28 but as the bolt approachesthe end of its stroke the flange 3! on the bolt will engage the rearflanges 24 on the spacers and thus reposition the rollers should theyhave become displaced.

The ends of rollers 20 and 2| bear against the rim 32 on the edges ofthe recesses 30 and also against the ends 33 of the slot between theflanges 24 in the spacers.

The edge 34 of each spacer bears against the edges 35 of the posts 4.

In this manner the spacer spaces the rollers and keeps them parallel andthe ends of the rollers keep the spacers lined up.

I claim:

1. In a lock, in combination, a housing having parallel inside wallfaces, an axially movable bolt projecting through one end of thehousing, parallel flat areas each recessed on one of two opposite facesof the bolt, rollers contacting the recessed areas and the inside of thehousing in a manner to leave a space between the housing and thenon-recessed surface of the bolt, two metal spacer plates each havingtwo parallel slots placed between said bolt and housing so that therollers are within the slots and kept parallel and normal to the axis ofthe bolt, downturned edges of said slots in said spacer plates extendininto said recesses to maintain. the spacer in alignment with the boltand to reposition the spacers and rollers at the end of the travel ofthe bolt.

2. In a lock, in combination, a bolt having depressed areas on oppositesides whose bottom surfaces are parallel to each other, a ridgeextending longitudinally of the bolt along the sideof each of saidareas, a roller whose end is guided by a ridge in each depression, ahousing having parallel inside surfaces along which said'rollers roll,spacer plates free to move longitudinally between said bolt and housinghaving slots, each slot surrounding one roller and serving to space andalign the rollers between the bolt and one surface of the housing.

3. In a lock, in combination, a hollow housing having a rectangularslot, an axially movable bolt projecting through said slot and guided byone end wall of the housing, a raised portion in said housing guidingthe opposite side of the rear end of said bolt, a notch in said bolt forpushing the. bolt rearward, a cover for said housing, a recessed area ineach of the faces of the bolt parallel to the bottom of the housing,rollers that roll against the housing and the cover, spacers movablebetween the bolt and the cover and housing respectively, rectangularslots slightly larger than the rollers in said spacers encompassing saidrollers, flanges around one of said recessed areas limiting the distancethe bolt can roll on the rollers, an axially extending rim to one sideof each of said recessed areas, downturned edges bounding the slots inthe spacers engaging said flanges to limit the travel of the spacersrelative to the bolt.

4. A look with a roller bearing bolt having, in combination, a housinghaving parallel internal surfaces and a rectangular hole and a keyhole,a generally rectangular bolt passing through said hole andlongitudinally movable within the housing, and having a recess on oneside permitting a key entered through the keyhole to engage the boltnear its axis to draw it back into the housing, a spring within thehousing tending to project the bolt, two rectangular depressed areas onopposite sides of the bolt between the recess and the hole in thehousing, two similar depressed rectangular areas on opposite sides ofthe bolt to the other side of said recess, generally rectangul ar spacerplates located between the bolt and each face of the housing havingcut-away portions near the center of one of their edges to clear a keyin the housing, .parallel slots in each spacer plate located between thecut-away portion and the respective ends of the spacer plates, a rollerin each slot in said spacer plates Whose path of movement relative tothe bolt is determined jointly by' the edges of the depressed area andthe spacer plate.

5. In a lock, in combination, a bolt having two depressed areas on oneside and two similar depressedareas on the opposite side, ridgesextending longitudinally of the bolt forming one edge of each depressedarea, a roller in each area whose end bears against said ridge as itrolls, two spacer plates each of which has two parallel slots eachadapted to encompass one of said rollers and to space and align saidrollers to roll longitudinally of the bolt while the rollers bearingagainst said ridge align the spacer plate laterally, a, housing havingparallel inside surfaces along which said rollers roll.

ERNEST R. FREEBERG.

References Cited in the file of. this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber

